AM –
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged the global nuclear community to ease restrictions on India to enable it import environment friendly nuclear fuel for producing clean energy in a big way. Addressing a conference of state environment ministers and officials in New Delhi, Mr. Modi rejected suggestions that India is posing hurdles in the fight against global warming and climate change. He took a dig at developed nations saying they lecture India on the issue but deny it nuclear fuel for clean energy.
He asserted that protecting environment has been country’s age old tradition and India’s contribution to pollution level is one of the lowest in the world. Reiterating India’s commitment to promoting clean energy including nuclear, he said the country has not been sufficiently projected on the global arena and occasionally perceived to be a barrier in the global climate change fight.
Blaming changing lifestyle of people as the reason for environmental degradation, Modi said increasing consumerism is at the root of the climate crisis. He advocated practice of age-old traditions of the country to fight it. Amid a debate on the Land Acquisition Bill, Prime Minister accused the opposition parties of misleading people on the issue of tribal and forest land saying such a campaign will hurt the interests of the country. He said tribal and forest land do not come under the ambit of the new bill and are protected by separate laws.
Speaking on the occasion, Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar asked the society to join hands with the government to save environment. During the function, the Prime Minister also launched National Air Quality Index to tackle the menace of air pollution. The index will provide information on the quality of air in 10 major cities in the country, including Delhi and Mumbai. It will also provide information to the public every day about the level of pollution in the air on real time basis. Delhi’s air pollution has been in focus in recent months, surpassing Beijing as the most polluted city in the world.